Elijah Wood for Maniac remake

Franck Khalfoun remakes a 1980's horror/slasher film of the same name, with Elijah Wood starring as the main character. Frank (Wood) is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store. What nobody knows, however, is that he's also a serial killer with a fetish for scalping his victims. After a young artist named Anna appears in his store to ask for help with her new art exhibition, the desire to stalk and kill is once again unleashed in Frank. As he grows closer to Anna, he struggles with what he really wants; another scalp as a trophy or real love.

The 'Lord of the Rings' star will appear as New York serial killer Zito - who has a penchant for scalping his victims - in the new version of the 80s gore-fest.

The film will be written by 'Piranha 3D' director Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur and directed by Franck Khalfoun, best known for 'P2'.

Starring alongside Elijah will be ' Safe House' star Nora Arnezeder, who will take the role of Anna, played by legendary English horror and action film actress Caroline Munro in the original.

The casting sees Elijah in his most villainous role since he played cannibal serial killer Kevin in 2005's comic book frolic 'Sin City', and fans will be hoping Alexandre brings the same tense atmosphere and splattering of blood as he did when directing 'The Hills Have Eyes'.

Before embarking on filming, Elijah is busy with 'The Hobbit' in New Zealand, which sees him reunited with most of the 'Lord of the Rings' cast.

Of that movie, he said: "For a while I was excited just at the notion of going back and seeing everybody and playing the character again.

"Then sitting down and reading it I became really genuinely excited about the films they were making. I think they're going to be amazing."